ABSTRACT
In the 1980s the People’s Republic of China has sought, and to some extent gained, greater interdependence within the Asia-Pacific region. It has, for example, become a member of the Pacific Economic Co-operation Conference (PECC), a semi-official body that is more a ‘talking-shop’ than an inter-governmental agency, of which it is the only socialist member. However, China’s involvement in the PECC and its greater interaction with the Asia-Pacific region are not without their problems. China seeks an independent foreign policy, but the maintenance of its strategic outlook depends on the continuity of a stable international environment, which China can influence but not determine. There appears to be room for conflict between the desire for interdependence and China’s search for its own ‘path to socialism’. Moreover, within the Asia-Pacific region other countries have ambivalent attitudes towards closer co-operation with China.
